I don't know about the rest of the folk on this board, but to me, the fact that we are still having problems with the dog gone bootloader after knowing for years that the problem exists is really, really annoying. Put the fix in the darn production line so we can forget it ever existed.

For the OP, there is a workaround that I developed while I was waiting (and whining) for a fix to the 2560 bootloader. You turn the bootloader into a timer and slap in some code to take care of the board locking up on something. It's not the absolute perfect solution since it isn't totally hardware, but it worked for months and months without a hitch in several arduinos of mine. I use it pretty regularly when I need a watchdog that can run a longer period than the provided one. This one can run a long time if needed (sky may be the limit).

Very true Nick, but crap, this has been going on for years, add this item to the test suite for every bootloader and get rid of the problem. Testing for this is so easy and simple that it can't even come close to comparing with the other problems normally tested for.

As for the boards already out there, the users can fix them if they have a good bootloader to put on them. Heck, you've come up with a method that works pretty well, all that's needed is a good bootloader somewhere it can be downloaded easily. There just isn't any excuse for something like this coming off the production line for any of the arduino boards anymore. Three years ago, maybe, but not now.

Yes, your problem may well be a brand new bug. New bugs are expected and have to be tolerated, I totally understand that. My tirade was only directed at the watchdog timer problem that has plagued us for years on various boards through many production runs and major modifications.

Help me, I know that free() will fracture memory and cause the board to run out. Is that what you're talking about? That particular problem of fragmentation is not only on the arduino, it's everywhere. I once had to write code for a unix system to recover that memory and pack the usage back down to reasonable, for an ATM strangely enough. Yes, I read your other post. As part of that project, I searched around and found out that that was a conscious decision back when it was being developed. It was either eat time tracking and keeping memory usage under control, or run fast and let it get out of hand. Remember how slow machines were back in the '80s? they chose fast.

Which meant, every night after midnight sometime, the ATM would pause, clean up memory and then continue. Took too long to reboot the darn thing and it was hard on the hardware to go through the entire boot up diagnostics on the depositor and dispenser for something like this.

Hi,Could you please tell me if its recommended/safe to run an Arduino micro 24/7 in a home environment?So far I have 1 setup but would like to use 5 of them to control roller blinds in my house, my setup works as follows:

- Arduino Micro (input power 12v from switching adapter vin/gnd)- Qik 2s9v1 to control 2 motors when activated(1 motor is on each blind), it also uses the same 12v power from the power supply- 2 reflectance sensors (only active when the motor moves to auto stop the blind)- 1 Infrared receiver

When not in use, the void loop performs some logic checks and is listening for an infrared signal (using IRremote libary)Also, would it be better to use less voltage for the input or is this not important?Thanks in advance for your help!Paul

I have my home thermostat system running via Arduino along with remote temperature Arduino modules that all run 24/7 without issue. All have their own power source, the thermostat Arduino uses the furnace voltage supply and the remote modules plug into wall sockets. I use Teensy 2.0 instead of Arduino for size/power/price reasons. But, it's the same ATmega microcontroller so it will work the same.

I also have a few systems that block rooms for dogs via an ultrasonic transducer for both detection as well as ultrasonic alarm so it only bothers the dogs, not humans.

In both cases, zero problems running 24/7. Never a crash. Even working in solar power as some use such low current even household lighting could power the system.

Hi,I tried the same test again as yesterday (with the WDT) but this time on my second Arduino Micro. It also showed the same symptoms where I couldn't upload anymore. Could it be possible that the ones I have use a different firmware or are from another batch?In the mean time everything seems to be working fine without the WDT so i'll give it a go for few days.It's really nice to hear that other people are seeing strange behavior with their micro boards so i'm happy that it's probably not damaged.Nick, you mentioned that installing a corrected bootloader will fix it, do you know how I can do this or if a new one is available yet?

Regarding the Teensy, I picked up version 3 a fews days ago for a bit of fun (haven't tried it yet) but over here in Europe they cost quite a bit more than the arduinos.